Tuesday 2 April 2019
Tune of the Day: The Curragh Races
Traditional Irish reel
The Curragh is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training, and is the home of Irish horse racing. The name itself stems from the Irish Gaelic word cuireach, which means “place of the running horses”. Horse races are said to have been held at Curragh since the 3rd century AD, originally in the form of chariot races.
The present setting of this popular tune, which is in the florid style of the famous traditional fiddler John McFadden, is taken from Francis O'Neill's Music of Ireland, published in 1903.